New Challenges, new year...
I swam the 3K at World's this year. Because I'm not in the shape I want to be in, it was long enough to allow a lot of thinking:
As the summer comes to a close this year, more than ever I’m missing the big swims. It has been 10 years since the summer of big swims including the Channel. I not only miss doing them but I miss being able to do them. Somehow I think being in the shape to swim miles upon miles helped me not only physically but emotionally.
It is the ability to swim and not focus on anything or focus on something as needed. I solve problems when I swim or it can also be a zen like experience. I let go of each thought as it comes. I lose myself in the repetition of the stroke, the sound of the water and the passing of time. I may be tired at the end but I am also clear in my head. I'm at peace.
I also very much miss the people, those that share the passion or the need to make dreams come true. Those would be the swimmers as well as the crew folk, the pilots and event directors. I miss working out and going for a soda or beer after. I miss the comradery of a group of swimmers no matter what their goals are.
So 10 years after my last big swim, it is time to head back to the water for distance and speed. Be it salt and fresh and chlorine, it is always wet. It is time to put in the long workouts and short power swims as I work up to a long swim. Next year this time, I will have a long swim under my belt if not more. Tampa is on the slate for April. It will be good for me for all reasons big and small.
As the summer comes to a close this year, more than ever I’m missing the big swims. It has been 10 years since the summer of big swims including the Channel. I not only miss doing them but I miss being able to do them. Somehow I think being in the shape to swim miles upon miles helped me not only physically but emotionally.
It is the ability to swim and not focus on anything or focus on something as needed. I solve problems when I swim or it can also be a zen like experience. I let go of each thought as it comes. I lose myself in the repetition of the stroke, the sound of the water and the passing of time. I may be tired at the end but I am also clear in my head. I'm at peace.
I also very much miss the people, those that share the passion or the need to make dreams come true. Those would be the swimmers as well as the crew folk, the pilots and event directors. I miss working out and going for a soda or beer after. I miss the comradery of a group of swimmers no matter what their goals are.
So 10 years after my last big swim, it is time to head back to the water for distance and speed. Be it salt and fresh and chlorine, it is always wet. It is time to put in the long workouts and short power swims as I work up to a long swim. Next year this time, I will have a long swim under my belt if not more. Tampa is on the slate for April. It will be good for me for all reasons big and small.